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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Tiger Woods and his endorsements likely to weather the storm


By Ameet Sachdev and Wailin Wong
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — Tiger Woods, arguably the most famous athlete in the world, has tarnished his perfectionist, clean-cut image — one that has earned him hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements off the golf course.

Advertisers who banked on Woods’ reputation as a champion face the tricky task of reassessing the value of their marketing relationship with him now that Woods has confessed to unspecified “transgressions” in his personal life, marketing experts say. While his appeal will endure, he is no longer the man with a seemingly charmed life: an extraordinarily successful athlete with a happy, stable family.
“He’s a fine-tuned machine when it comes to playing golf and carrying the celebrity role on a global basis as the icon for golf,” said John Rowady of sports marketing firm Revolution. “But I think we’re seeing that he’s very much private and human . . . in his personal situations, and he’s uncomfortable talking about them.”
Said Robert Tuchman, an executive vice president with Premiere Global Sports: “His whole image has been built on he’s unbeatable, he’s super-human, he’s perfect. And now people realize, ’Well, maybe that’s not the case.’ There’s definitely going to be some fallout.”
On Wednesday, many of his sponsors, including Nike and Gatorade, stood by Woods in the messy aftermath of his mysterious car accident last week. “Nike supports Tiger and his family. Our relationship remains unchanged,” the company said in a statement.
Woods is known as a fierce competitor on a trajectory to become the best golfer, and one of the best pro athletes, of all time. His profile eclipses sports, much like Michael Jordan’s and Muhammad Ali’s, enticing nonsports-related companies such as Procter & Gamble’s Gillette unit and Accenture, a management consultant, to line up to associate with him.
In 2008, Woods earned $7.7 million on the golf course. The same year advertisers paid him $109 million to endorse their products and services, according to Golf Digest magazine, which predicted Woods would become golf’s first $1 billion man in 2009.
The themes of his endorsement activity rarely stray from the course, and he hardly speaks in his television ads. He just plays his game. If Woods does not let his personal life distract him on the golf course, then his image will recover, said Denise White, chief executive of EAG Sports Management.
“What it takes to come back is how well (athletes) do on the court or on the golf course,” White said. “Nobody shies away from an extremely talented athlete, regardless of what they’ve done wrong.”
In the short term what complicates Wood’s situation is that his mea culpa did not answer all the questions swirling around the golfer after his involvement in a single-car crash outside his Florida mansion early Friday.
In his initial statement Sunday, he portrayed himself as the victim of a media frenzy.
“Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible,” Woods said.
But Woods’ denial did not seem to hold up. On Wednesday, US Weekly magazine came out with a cover story alleging that a Los Angeles cocktail waitress had a lengthy affair with the golfer. The magazine also released a voice mail that the waitress said is Woods’. The story forced Woods to issue a second statement. While he did not outright admit to extramarital affairs, the language in the five-paragraph statement on his Web site was not difficult to interpret.
“I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. ... I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves,” Woods said.
The comments generated derision from fellow pro golfer Jesper Parnevik, who took aim at Woods’ marketing status. He was quoted after a golf event Wednesday that he was saddened because he had introduced Woods to his wife, Elin Nordegren.
“It’s a private thing of course,” he said. “But when you are the guy he is, the world’s best athlete, you should think more before you do stuff . ... . And maybe not just do it, like Nike says,” Parnevik said.
Still, experts pointed out that athletes have overcome more explosive situations. Basketball star Kobe Bryant was arrested in 2003 in connection with a sexual assault complaint filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee in Colorado. The charges drove away some marketers, such as McDonald’s Corp.
Bryant admitted to having sex with the accuser but denied the assault allegation. The case was dropped after the teen declined to testify at trial. Since then Bryant has kept advertiser dollars coming in. Fortune magazine estimated his endorsement revenue in 2007 at $16 million.
Amy Littleton, vice president of KemperLesnik, a public relations, events management and sports marketing agency, said Woods’ next steps are to lay low and get his personal house in order. She said the negative buzz will persist in the short term, but the scandal should die relatively quickly.
“If you can get through (a year) it will definitely be in the rearview mirror,” she said.